LVMH rings up record sales, operating profit jumps

Luxury leader LVMH defied global economic gloom last year to ring up record annual sales of 35.67 billion euros ($38.9 billion), while operating profit soared.

The maker of Louis Vuitton handbags and Moet & Chandon champagne said Tuesday that its net profit for 2015 came in at 3.57 billion euros.

The figure represents a drop of 37 percent, but 2014 figures were bloated due to 2.8 billion euros in capital gains the company booked on its exit from rival Hermes.

Excluding such exceptional items net earnings were up by 20 percent.

Operating profit rose by 16 percent to 6.6 billion euros in the group whose stable of luxury brands also includes Givenchy and Kenzo.

"The 2015 results confirm the capacity for LVMH to progress and gain market share despite economic and geopolitical uncertainty," chief executive Bernard Arnault said in a statement.

The company said it made strong progress in Europe, the United States and Japan while the performance of Asian markets was contrasted.

All of its market segments reported double digit gains in revenue and profit.

Management announced it would propose an 11 percent increase in the dividend payment to 3.55 euros per share.

The record sales beat market expectations. Analysts surveyed by financial data provider FactSet had expected 35.5 billion euros.

The net profit figure was below the 3.71 expected by analysts.